HOLY SCRIPTURE
We believe the 66 books of the Old and New Testament, are the complete written record of God’s self-disclosure[1] to humankind. Recorded by individuals[2] under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit[3], the Bible is the written word of God; living and active[4], powerful[5], eternal[6], unstoppable[7], true[8] and infallible in whatever it affirms, and therefore of supreme authority in all matters about which it speaks. The Word of God guides[9], builds up[10], encourages[11], corrects[12], bears witness to gospel truth[13], guards against deceit[14] and trains us in righteousness[15]. Each book is to be understood according to its context and purpose and in reverent obedience[16] to God who speaks through it in living power. The received Scriptures are totally sufficient[17] for all matters pertaining to faith[18], practice, and doctrine.
Scripture References
[1] 1 Thessalonians 2:13: “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”
[2] 2 Peter 1:21: “21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
[3] 1 Corinthians 2:13: “And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit…”
[4] Hebrews 4:12: “ For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
[5] Jeremiah 23:29: “Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”
[6] Isaiah 40:8: “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
– Matthew 24:35: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
– Matthew 5:18: “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”
[7] Isaiah 55:11: “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
[8] Psalm 19:7-9: “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.”
– John 17:17: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”
[9] Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
[10] Acts 20:32: “And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
[11] Romans 15:4: “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
[12] Colossians 3:16: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
[13] John 35:39-40: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”
[14] Colossians 2:8: “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”
[15] 2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
[16] Hebrews 2:1: “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.”
[17] Galatians 1:8: “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”
[18] Romans 10:17: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”